Hello
I listened to Teens and Sleep. Three adults were talking about teens not getting enough sleep. They took a survery and talked to parents about the teens' lifestyles. I thought it was very interesting and relevant to me because I do not get the recommended 9 hours of sleep every night. It is hard to when you have 8 hours of school, homework, a job, family, friends, and a boyfriend. There isn't eough time to do everything expected and also do well in everything. I thought it was very interesting that the average amount of sleep for seniors is 6.9 hours. I typically get around that many hours of sleep but eventually I get completely drained and during most of my weekends I have to sleep in late in order to make up the time.
I also learned from this chapter that our bodies are synchronized with the 24 hour cycle of day and night through our biological time clock called circadian rhythm. Thinking is sharpest and our memory is most vivid when we are at our daily peak of circadian arousal. Bright light at night tends to delay sleep and bright light in the morning tweaks our clock and activates light-sensitive retinal proteins that send signals to our brain. It is hard for me to fall asleep when there is a light on but easy for me to get up when I see light. I agree with this since if I am very tired I usually get a second wind during the day.
I was surprised to find out that there are four stages to our sleep. During Stage 1 you will experience hallucinations and fantastic images. You may also have a sense of falling. Then you tend to relax more deeply and Stage 2 sleep is characterized by sleep spindles or bursts of brain wave activity. Steeptalking tends to occur during this time. Then you will transition to Stage 3 then Stage 4. The brain will then emit large slow delta waves that last for 30 minutes each. At the end of Stage 4 children are most like to wet the bed or start sleepwalking. I thought that was surprising because I did not know that when we sleep so much stuff happens in our brain that causes us to do weird things.
I agree that the age related differences between us depict the amount of sleep we need. I think that sleep may be genetically influenced as well as environmently. With sleep we feel refreshed and tend to be in a better mood. Honestly I agree with everything that the book said.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Blog Post #3 The Brain and Behavior
Hello,
The first activity that I did was "Seeing more than you eye does". I had to stare at a cross mark and watch a dot disappear that was placed next to the mark. It disappeared as I got closer to my computer screen because of the hole in my photoreceptor sheet of the eye. The second activity I did was called "Contrast/Color Illusions". I had to look at a checkerboard and a Rubik's cube and decide wether the colors were the same in the shaded areas or different. I realized that the brain gives us an informed guess upon which color it actually is. The wavelengths and intensity of the light cause our brain to distinguish the color.
I learned that the brain is complicated and distinguishes everything from different perspectives. I was very surprised to know how the brain actually can affect the way you see a color or how our eyes actually have blind spots. I can apply what I learned into everyday life especially knowing that the color is always different depending upon the intensity of light and the wavelengths. If I ever buy a couch or another piece of furtniture I would have to apply the color illusions in order to determine the right one that would look best in my house. I would also use it in Art class when I am painting or coloring a picture in order to depict the right color.
Doing these activites doesn't really change the way I think about the world and what I see. I knew the brain was complicated and perceived what we see into thought. Several others may be affected but I believe that everything happens for a reason and you can't change it.
I learned from Chapter 2 that we spend about six years of our lives dreaming. Dreams are in the REM stage of our sleep. The story line of our dreams usually is about manifest content or incorporates the traces of previous days of experiences and preoccupations. I think dreams are very interesting and would like to know what some of my dreams mean. I also learned that the endocrine system is very beneficial to our existence. It releases hormones into the blood stream to target cell receptors. When hormones act on the brain they can influence our interest of sex, food, and emotions. We have several glands all over our body that have a certain mission. For example the pituitary gland regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands. I also learned that the recovery from brain damage depends on the age of the person as well as how bad the damage actually was.
I thought the video " The Man with Two Brains" was very cool and interesting. The tests they put him through were very informative. If we looked at those pictures we could of determined the right answer, but when the man does his left and right hemispheres of his brain tell him differently. Its interesting that because he had epileptic seizures and the doctors peformed surgery to disconnect the hemispheres from working together he still was able to function. He didn't even realize the differences of before and after. I enjoyed watching the video and would like to watch more of the series.
The first activity that I did was "Seeing more than you eye does". I had to stare at a cross mark and watch a dot disappear that was placed next to the mark. It disappeared as I got closer to my computer screen because of the hole in my photoreceptor sheet of the eye. The second activity I did was called "Contrast/Color Illusions". I had to look at a checkerboard and a Rubik's cube and decide wether the colors were the same in the shaded areas or different. I realized that the brain gives us an informed guess upon which color it actually is. The wavelengths and intensity of the light cause our brain to distinguish the color.
I learned that the brain is complicated and distinguishes everything from different perspectives. I was very surprised to know how the brain actually can affect the way you see a color or how our eyes actually have blind spots. I can apply what I learned into everyday life especially knowing that the color is always different depending upon the intensity of light and the wavelengths. If I ever buy a couch or another piece of furtniture I would have to apply the color illusions in order to determine the right one that would look best in my house. I would also use it in Art class when I am painting or coloring a picture in order to depict the right color.
Doing these activites doesn't really change the way I think about the world and what I see. I knew the brain was complicated and perceived what we see into thought. Several others may be affected but I believe that everything happens for a reason and you can't change it.
I learned from Chapter 2 that we spend about six years of our lives dreaming. Dreams are in the REM stage of our sleep. The story line of our dreams usually is about manifest content or incorporates the traces of previous days of experiences and preoccupations. I think dreams are very interesting and would like to know what some of my dreams mean. I also learned that the endocrine system is very beneficial to our existence. It releases hormones into the blood stream to target cell receptors. When hormones act on the brain they can influence our interest of sex, food, and emotions. We have several glands all over our body that have a certain mission. For example the pituitary gland regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands. I also learned that the recovery from brain damage depends on the age of the person as well as how bad the damage actually was.
I thought the video " The Man with Two Brains" was very cool and interesting. The tests they put him through were very informative. If we looked at those pictures we could of determined the right answer, but when the man does his left and right hemispheres of his brain tell him differently. Its interesting that because he had epileptic seizures and the doctors peformed surgery to disconnect the hemispheres from working together he still was able to function. He didn't even realize the differences of before and after. I enjoyed watching the video and would like to watch more of the series.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Blog Post #2 Thinking Critically
Hello,
Research is very important in our lives. The more we know and gather information the more we gain knowlege. With the information we recieve we can make decisions and future plans. Research is used by students, professors, businesses, parents, and many others. Research can help solve problems and increase our awareness. Research helps us make educated decisions.
A piece of research that is valuable to me right now is researching colleges. I plan to go on to school and getting some sort of medical degree. I have been researching the University of Wood and several other UW systems in order to find the best one for me. I have looked at their courses and what they offer for credits. I also took into consideration how far these universities were away from my home and if I could afford it. Research is a vital part of my life especially in the case of my future. A relevant article to me from psyblog.com was "Essentials of Group Psychology". This article explained how a group can influence everyone's decision making skills, creativity,and productivity. I believe this is true because I have experienced this. Groups can persuade and manipulate what you think because eventually it will have to come to a majority. It feels good when others think the same as you and are considered on "ur side".
Some other things I learned is that critical thinking helps us assess someone elses ideas and brings forth new questions to research on. It helps us further understand somethings that might be interesting or something we are not quite sure about. Another thing is that the Scientific Method is a vital tool used to explain and organize our observations and form educated decisions. From the Scientific Method we are able to experiment and gain confidence in the explanation. I also learned that our culture shapes our behavior. It influences our life because of the shared ideas and behaviors that were passed on from generation to generation. We have to be aware of our culture and others because it continues to grow. Overall research is very important and without it we would not be where we are today.
Research is very important in our lives. The more we know and gather information the more we gain knowlege. With the information we recieve we can make decisions and future plans. Research is used by students, professors, businesses, parents, and many others. Research can help solve problems and increase our awareness. Research helps us make educated decisions.
A piece of research that is valuable to me right now is researching colleges. I plan to go on to school and getting some sort of medical degree. I have been researching the University of Wood and several other UW systems in order to find the best one for me. I have looked at their courses and what they offer for credits. I also took into consideration how far these universities were away from my home and if I could afford it. Research is a vital part of my life especially in the case of my future. A relevant article to me from psyblog.com was "Essentials of Group Psychology". This article explained how a group can influence everyone's decision making skills, creativity,and productivity. I believe this is true because I have experienced this. Groups can persuade and manipulate what you think because eventually it will have to come to a majority. It feels good when others think the same as you and are considered on "ur side".
Some other things I learned is that critical thinking helps us assess someone elses ideas and brings forth new questions to research on. It helps us further understand somethings that might be interesting or something we are not quite sure about. Another thing is that the Scientific Method is a vital tool used to explain and organize our observations and form educated decisions. From the Scientific Method we are able to experiment and gain confidence in the explanation. I also learned that our culture shapes our behavior. It influences our life because of the shared ideas and behaviors that were passed on from generation to generation. We have to be aware of our culture and others because it continues to grow. Overall research is very important and without it we would not be where we are today.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Section 1
Hey
I think Psychology encompassed the studying of the mind and the human behavior. I realize now that I was very close to the actual definiton but it is more complicated than just that. Psychology affects my life because it is a part of me and everyone I am involved with. Psychology explains how I get through each and every day. I learned that Aristotle started researching about Psychology a long time ago, which I thought was interesting since it was over 2000 years ago. It was also interesting to see that Psychology is broken down into certain subfields for further research and explanations. I think so far Psychology is intriguing and I am interested in learning more.
I think Psychology encompassed the studying of the mind and the human behavior. I realize now that I was very close to the actual definiton but it is more complicated than just that. Psychology affects my life because it is a part of me and everyone I am involved with. Psychology explains how I get through each and every day. I learned that Aristotle started researching about Psychology a long time ago, which I thought was interesting since it was over 2000 years ago. It was also interesting to see that Psychology is broken down into certain subfields for further research and explanations. I think so far Psychology is intriguing and I am interested in learning more.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Introductory Post
Hello My name is Kaylee McGhee. I'm from Stratford High School and I am 17 years old. My dad always tells me that whatever you put your mind to you can do it and never say never. I try to stick to this as I go through life. Psychology is important because it involves everyone in this world today including the past and the future. I believe Psychology means the study of the mind, how each and everyone of us thinks and reacts.
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